Though “Wild Cards” is a fictional world filled with numerous characters much like “GoT,” the series seems to be more sci-fi than fantasy. Here’s a piece from Martin’s synopsis:

“The shared world of the Wild Cards diverged from our own on September 15, 1946 when an alien virus was released in the skies over Manhattan, and spread across an unsuspecting Earth. Of those infected, 90% died horribly, drawing the black queen, 9% were twisted and deformed into jokers, while a lucky 1% became blessed with extraordinary and unpredictable powers and became aces. The world was never the same.”

The series, which was first published in 1986, is made up of 22 volumes with a 23rd on the way. As Martin puts it, “generations of writers” have contributed to the “Wild Cards” universe. Not all the books were written by the “GoT” author but they were edited by him.

Martin said the “Wild Cards” universe is “as large and diverse and exciting gas the comic book universes of Marvel and DC” — but gritter. He said he’s not sure what stories will be adapted or when exactly the show will come out, though he thinks it will happen over the next year or two.